


Betrayal

by Sinna



Series: A Crash Course in Parenting [3]
Category: Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: AU, Adoption, Established Relationship, M/M, kid!Bart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-11
Updated: 2013-01-11
Packaged: 2017-11-25 03:44:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/634767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinna/pseuds/Sinna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason Todd isn’t interested in talking. Tim, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), has some things to say.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Betrayal

**Author's Note:**

> This is quickly becoming my fluffy, happy, fix-it verse.

Jason Todd quietly closed Raven’s door as he left her room. He’d made sure that she was too deeply asleep to hear him even if he slammed it, but it was always wise to take precautions. He went through the Titans roster in his head again. Cyborg and Beast Boy were down for the count. Raven was asleep. Wonder Girl and Superboy had both gone home.

That meant only one person was left.

The replacement.

The kid probably had Dick’s old room. Talia’s files on Tim Drake suggested that he was a bit more intellectual than Dick or Jason himself had been, and her information was always solid, so he’d probably still be going over reports or something. The thought reminded Jason disturbingly of Bruce. He pushed it away and pulled off his helmet. He wasn’t going to hide behind a mask. He wanted Tim to know who he was.

A sudden blur set him on edge. A miniature tornado tore past him, skidded to a halt, and turned to face him.

A kid? A kid with superspeed?

Apparently, Talia’s information wasn’t always completely solid.

“You’re- you’re- you’re-” the kid gasped.

“What?” Jason snapped.

In his head, he was already computing ways to neutralize the child. Speedsters were tricky, and Jason really didn’t like the idea of hurting a five-year-old.

“You’re Jason Todd!!”

“And who are you?” Jason asked, folding his arms across his chest.

“I’m Bart! Tim told me so much about you! You’re so cool!!”

Before the words had fully left Bart’s mouth, Jason found himself with an armful of affectionate speedster.

“Aren’t you dead?” Bart added as an afterthought.

“Get off me, kid,” Jason snapped.

“Are you here to see Tim?”

Jason decided that the truth probably couldn’t hurt in this instance.

“Yes.”

“I’ll go get him!” Bart declared.

And with that, he was gone. Well, there went the element of surprise. Wonderful.

The sound of voices down the hall soon reached his ears.

“What is this about, Bart? I have work to do.”

“It’s a really, really good surprise! I promise. You’ll like it.”

Bart rounded the corner, pulling a less-than-enthusiastic Tim Drake after him.

Time seemed to slow down for a few seconds as Jason finally caught sight of the boy he’d been pinning all his pent-up frustration on. Tim froze, a look of shock spreading across his face.

“Jason?!”

And then he smiled. He had the goddamn nerve to smile.

Well, this was a shitty turn of events. He’d imagined this scenario so many times. But he’d never thought that the damn replacement would be happy to see him.

Tim’s gaze fell to the helmet in Jason’s hand, and the smile dropped from his face.

“No,” he whispered. “Tell me it’s not you.”

Jason opted for the easiest approach and shrugged, keeping his face neutral.

“Well, someone replaced me, so I had to find a new title. Red Hood is surprisingly fitting, don’t you think?”

Any joy at seeing Jason alive had left Tim’s face. He knelt down to Bart’s level.

“Bart, go home. Tell Kon I might be a little late, okay?”

Bart frowned.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want you to get hurt. Go, Bart. Now.”

Jason waited patiently. He thought he should be a little bit grateful that the replacement was giving him what he wanted – an even fight with no bystanders – but he wasn’t even sure he wanted it any more.

Bart paused before he left.

“You won’t hurt Tim, will you? You’re a hero. I saw your case in the Batcave.”

“Bart. Go.”

The kid was gone, but his words were less easily dismissed.

“Case?”

“Bruce has a memorial for you,” Tim told him. “In the cave. I see the way he looks at it sometimes, when he thinks no one’s there. He’s missed you.” He paused. “I didn’t replace you. I never could.”

Jason stalked towards Tim, unable to believe his ears. Brave or stupid, Tim held his ground.

“Is that what you think? Did he tell you what he told me? That you were ‘special’? That you had the power to change Gotham? I was just a replacement for Dick Grayson, and now you’re a replacement for both of us. And if there is a case, it’s just a reminder for _you_ , not him. ‘Don’t be an idiot and get yourself killed like Jason Todd.’ He doesn’t care about me. He never did.”

“Do you really believe that?” asked Tim. “I was under the impression that you knew him better than that.”

“I thought I did. Then I got a little perspective on the world. Everything seems perfect when you’re Robin, doesn’t it? That can change, kid.”

“What happened to you?” Tim asked. “What happened to my Robin?”

“Your Robin?”

Jason could have laughed, if it wasn’t so surreal.

“I may have found Batman’s identity through Dick, but he became Nightwing only a few months later. But you… I followed your career from the very beginning, in costume and out. You were my hero. When you died, I was devastated. But Bruce was worse. I had to track him down and force him to take me on as Robin, because he would have lost it without someone there to keep him from going over the edge. I convinced him to let me take the job, but I’ve been living in your shadow ever since. There are still days when he’ll look at me, and I know he sees nothing but you.”

This time, Jason did laugh.

“Now I know you’re lying. You’re good at it, kid, but you just made a rookie mistake. Dick’s the only one who’s ever really been Robin in Bruce’s eyes.”

“Do you want it back?” Tim asked. “Do you want to be Robin again? I’ll step aside.”

For a moment, Jason allowed himself to imagine it. Being back with Bruce. The old team back together. It was nice dream, but Jason wasn’t stupid enough to believe that it could be a reality.

“I think it’s too late for that,” he said quietly. “I messed up my chances. Big time.”

 “You’re Jason Todd. I know you think he doesn’t care about you, but he does. He loved – loves – you, Jason. He’d never refuse you.”

“You didn’t see what I did to him.”

Tim winced.

“That bad? I heard the Red Hood was cleaning up Gotham the easy way. I never heard you were making trouble for Bruce.”

“I tried to kill him. I think I would have, if he would’ve let me.”

“You came back from the dead, Jason. I think that’s enough to account for any crazy behavior.”

For the first time, Jason lashed out. His fist buried itself in the steel walls of the Tower, just inches away from Tim’s head.

“That’s the problem. This isn’t Lazarus Pit-induced madness that will just go away. This is who I am now, and I know that Bruce can never accept that.”

“What do you want?” Tim asked.

“I want the Joker dead,” Jason snapped instantly.

Tim shook his head.

“No. What do you _really_ want?”

“Don’t be like that.”

“Answer the question.”

Jason sighed.

“I just want to know that I meant something. Is that really so much to ask?”

“You meant something to me,” Tim said. “And you’d have to be blind to think that you didn’t mean something to Bruce.”

Jason still wasn’t sure if the kid meant it, or if he was just lying to save his ass. He wasn’t even sure if it mattered.

“Keep the costume,” he said simply.

 

Later that night, he hacked into the Titans security feed and watched the results of his actions.

As soon as he left, Tim put a hand in the imprint of Jason’s fist, whispering “Is it really you?” incredulously.

“TIM!”

Superboy flew into the Tower, Bart running close by his side.

“Tim, are you okay?!”

“Kon!”

Tim flung his arms around the Kryptonian’s neck, and there was another thing Talia hadn’t mentioned. Little Timmy Drake had a boyfriend. That would have been helpful information if it had actually come down to a fight.

Bart circled them at superspeed, before climbing onto Tim’s back and clinging tightly.

“I’m okay,” Tim murmured into his Kon’s neck. “I’m really okay.”

“Jason wouldn’t hurt you,” Bart said. “I believe in him.”

Jason turned off the computer and reached for the phone, dialing a familiar number. This time, he didn’t hang up.

“Good evening, this is Wayne Manor. Mr. Wayne is busy at the moment, but I can take a message.”

Jason couldn’t speak for a moment.

“Hey, Alfred.”

 “…I’ll get him.”


End file.
